Covering topics ranging from security and politics to business and society, IranSource draws on written analysis and multimedia content to inform a broader public conversation about Iran from an array of angles and perspectives.

It aims to identify the challenges, opportunities, and policy conundrums facing the US-Iran relationship and present a range of options to address them.

Editor: Holly Dagres

The views expressed in IranSource are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Qasem Soleimani: From meme to martyr

IranSource Nov 20, 2024

2025 will be a decisive year for Iran’s nuclear program

Diplomatic deadlines and regional factors will force Iran to decide soon whether to strike a deal or seek a nuclear weapon. Either choice will have major ripple effects.

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Qasem Soleimani: From meme to martyr

IranSource Nov 20, 2024

How to wrestle with an ayatollah 

By Khosro Sayeh Isfahani

If one looks closely, the ancient Persian sport of wrestling might have answers to understanding how to contain Iran
Civil Society Freedom and Prosperity
Qasem Soleimani: From meme to martyr

IranSource Nov 1, 2024

How the death of Abdul Malik al-Houthi could impact the Houthis and Iran

By Emily Milliken and Caitlin Miller Hollingsworth

While Abdul Malik al-Houthi is still alive today, his death in the near term would impact the Houthi’s ability to operate and widen a leadership vacuum within Iran’s Resistance Axis.
Conflict Iran

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IranSource

Jan 9, 2020

Qasem Soleimani: From meme to martyr

By Suzanne Kianpour

The Quds Force commander was seen by some as the future of Iran’s leadership, in recent years having evolved out of the shadows of spymaster to increasingly in the spotlight as a celebrity officer who took selfies with Shia militias. Now, the seemingly untouchable commander is a martyr—something he always said he dreamed of—and the memes have gone international.

Conflict Iran

IranSource

Jan 8, 2020

Both the United States and Iran proved their points. Now they need to de-escalate tensions

By Robert Czulda

After Trump’s press conference, there are some good reasons to be optimistic and believe that both sides will remain restrained. However, on the other hand, in the Middle East restraint is very often seen not as a virtue, but as a sign of weakness which has to be exploited by one’s enemies.

Conflict Iran

IranSource

Jan 7, 2020

Hope for the Iran nuclear deal is not completely lost

By Kelsey Davenport

Iran’s fifth violation of the JCPOA is serious, but not necessarily a death blow to the nuclear deal. If Tehran acts with restraint and refrains from restarting particularly troublesome nuclear activities, there may be a narrow window for the P4+1 to preserve the deal.

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

IranSource

Jan 6, 2020

Will the Soleimani assassination lead to all-out war between the United States and Iran?

By Shahir Shahidsaless

Iran may feel that a limited confrontation with the United States can both maintain its face and, if it is carefully crafted, can lead to the retreat of Trump.

Conflict Iran

IranSource

Jan 6, 2020

Twenty-eight years ago Hezbollah’s leader was assassinated, and Israel paid a price

By Nicholas Blanford

Soleimani's death brings to mind memories of an earlier aerial assassination in south Lebanon during February 1992. The aftermath of that deadly attack twenty-eight years ago may provide pointers for what might unfold in the wake of Soleimani’s violent death—and possibly remind us of the risk of unintended consequences.

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Jan 3, 2020

Iran’s “living martyr” was ready to die, but blindsided oil markets must face new uncertainty

By Sara Vakhshouri

The immediate market reaction indicates that the common sense about this incident is that the US operation did not make the world and the Middle East region—which is responsible for significant volumes of global oil and gas production—a safer place but rather increased the instability and insecurity in the region.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Iran

IranSource

Jan 3, 2020

Death of Soleimani is a mixed blessing for Tehran

By Robert Czulda

On one hand Iran cannot start an open war with the United States, while on the other it has to somehow react to save its reputation as an implacable power facing “global arrogance.”

Iran

IranSource

Dec 24, 2019

Japan balances Tehran and Washington

By Sachi Sakanashi

On December 19, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani visited Japan. The two-day visit was the first by an Iranian president since 2000. It also marked the third meeting between Rouhani and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this year. The Tokyo meeting covered an array of issues. The talks ranged from finding a means to utilize Iran’s […]

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Dec 20, 2019

Iran is losing sight of its “developmental vision”

By Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Jahromi’s postal drone offers a metaphor for perhaps the central political challenge facing the Islamic Republic. In the wake of a brutal response to protests that has left over 300 dead, commentators have pointed to a crisis of legitimacy now facing Iran’s leaders and their ideological tenets.

Iran Middle East

IranSource

Dec 19, 2019

Rethinking Iranian regional influence and internal stability

By Scheherazade Faramarzi

The upheavals in Iraq, Lebanon and inside Iran have prompted a national soul-searching. Iranian politicians, academics, sociologists and analysts—as well as ordinary people—are debating whether the Islamic Republic is weakened and over-extended or even heading toward internal collapse. The regime so far has not provided an official death toll for the domestic protests, which broke […]

Iran Middle East
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